Fixing back mistakes
by Ma-ria-81
Summary: As Bella realizes her marriage is almost over, she knows she must take action to try and save it. But is one week enough time to heal a relationship that's been dead for years?B/E All-human
1. Prologue

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Prologue:

One week. It was all I had left. I never imagined when I first got married that it would end like this. I experienced the kind of love we only see in movies. I met Edward, my husband when I was in college. I worked as a waitress and he used to eat at the restaurant every Friday. We eventually met and dated for 6 years before we got married. I thought we had forever. I imagined lots of kids, I imagined growing old together, I imagined happiness. But here I am, in front of my sister-in-law, who never really liked me in the first place, listening to what would break my heart. She was the only one who had the courage to tell me the truth: my husband wanted to leave me. I understood that our relationship wasn't perfect and that it wasn't going great between us right now, but I hadn't realized that it was that bad. Rose told me that he had been with his brother, Emmett, when she overheard them talking about when would be the best time to do it. They settled on Sunday evening, when we would be returning home from Forks, after my best friend, Alice's wedding. I thought back to the first couple of years of our marriage. It started great, people even referred to us as the perfect couple. But things changed, work got in the way and we started to make less and less time for each other, what caused us to drift apart. We never faced the problem and thought it would go away on its own, instead, it worsened, and lead to this. I knew that our relationship changed, hell, we changed a lot, but Edward's behaviour never led me to believe that a separation was the only way. I kept thinking about it, trying my hardest to find a solution to this problem. There was one thing I could even think about doing, since giving up would be impossible: I had to make things right between Edward and me, and I had seven days to do it.

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**So this is the prologue of an idea for a story I had in mind. I would love to hear your ideas on what you would like to happen, or if you know any way I can improve it. I also need a beta because my main language is not english so if somebody is good in english and would like to help me, PM me. And if you want me to check any of your stories, just give me the link, I'd be happy to do it. One more thing, please review and tell me if you like it :) **

**Maria**


	2. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: ****I don't own twilight. It all belongs to Stephenie Meyer.**

**Chapter 1:**

I woke up well before I was supposed to, even though I didn't really sleep last night. I stared at Edward's face. He was beautiful even when he was asleep. He had one of his hands under his pillow while the other was holding the cover. His lips were slightly parted and his hair was messy. I lightly stroke his jaw line; his skin was just the way I remembered it, soft with a hint of stubble in the morning. I sighed, fixing up this marriage will be harder than I originally thought. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. I got up and tiptoed to the bathroom. I stared at my reflection in the mirror, I look almost like I did a couple of years ago, but I felt completely different. I felt older, less naive and less happy. Deciding not to dwell on the negative stuff, I went to the kitchen and started preparing what used to be Edward's favourite breakfast: Pancakes. I mixed the ingredients and put them away while I poured orange juice in two cups. I put the chocolate syrup and the glasses on a tray then went to make the pancakes. Although my cooking skills have drastically improved over the years, I was still far from perfect. That's why I threw the first three pancakes away. Lucky for me, a few did actually look like normal pancakes so I put them on plates and headed upstairs. Opening the bedroom door and holding the food tray at the same time proved itself to be a challenge. I almost tripped and blew up my whole surprise. I got in and turned the alarm off; it always annoyed me to wake up at the sound of it. I let Edward sleep a little while longer then I gently shook him awake.

"What? Is there something wrong?" He mumbled sleepily.

"Good morning sleepy head" I said, with my happiest voice. He seemed surprised, even more so when he noticed the tray of pancakes on the bedside table. I was a little hurt by his reaction, was I so bad that preparing breakfast for him was unbelievable?

"I made pancakes"

"Okay" He didn't really look convinced but went on anyway. He was now half-lying on the bed, with his back on the headboard. I sat next to him and put the tray in front of him. There was an awkward silence, I didn't really know what to say before he cleared his throat and said: "Thanks for the breakfast" I could see that he was still uncertain of my intentions but started eating. Desperate to hear his voice again, I asked him if he was busy today, and if he'd mind having lunch together, maybe going somewhere. He agreed and seemed even more puzzled than before. I realized how late it actually was and quickly got dressed. I put on black pants, a white shirt and a dark grey jacket. I got into my black Mercedes and headed for work. I made it to my building just on time. I said hi to Frank, the security guard who chuckled and said something that sounded like "people these days are always on a hurry". Frank was a sweet older guy who has been a security guard for the same company for many years. We always talked when I had time and he always looked so proud when he mentioned one of his grandchildren. I worked in a shipping company for four years. I got to my office. It was normal-sized with a desk, a couple of seats and a couch for the clients and a big locker to put all the files in. I put my jacket on the desk and my bag on the chair then went to greet my assistant, Angela. Angela was a tall five-foot-eight brunette with long black straight hair and fair skin. She was shy, but really friendly once I got to know her. I considered her as my only friend, apart from Alice, who lived miles away. She started work a couple of months before me so when I got here, she helped me settle in. We became friends fast and really enjoyed each other's company.

"Hey there, how was your weekend?"

"It was fine, how was yours?"

"Boring, but I'm having lunch with Edward today."

"That's really good" She seemed surprised. Why does it seem that everybody noticed that Edward and I weren't what we used to be except me?

I never thought that we were still that young loving couple we were years ago, but it took me more time than everybody else to notice that we stopped having lunch together or barely talked at night. And by the time I decided to take matters in my own hands, Edward decided that it was too late.

By then, tears started streaming down my face. I never really knew how much this could affect me if it went wrong. But now, I realized that I'd lose everything. I'd lose my husband, one of my closest friends, since Alice would probably be on her brother's side, and Edward's mother Esmee, somebody who I considered as my second mother.

Angela was rubbing my back, trying to calm me down.

When I could breathe again, I thanked Angela and apologized for ruining her good mood then went back to my office. The morning was pretty slow, I had nothing to do, which left me a lot of time to think about the upcoming lunch.

It was finally noon so I got into my car and headed for the hospital. I parked my car and greeted the receptionist. I've been here so many times that I've became familiar with most of the employees. I got into the elevator and pressed the button marked 5 to go to Edward's floor. I asked a nurse where I could find him and she told me she would page him for me. A couple of minutes later, he was walking towards me in his navy scrubs. I couldn't help but smile at his sight.

"Hey, are you done?" He had dark circles under his eyes and looked like he really needed a good night's sleep.

"Yeah, I just have to go talk to one of my patient's parents and I'll be good to go" I nodded and watched him as he walked back to the first room on the left. It was a typical hospital room, with a big glass window that allowed nurses to see if the patient needed help. The walls were painted in a light blue color with a jungle theme all over the room; something to put a smile on the tiny human's faces. I always loved observing Edward and his patients. It was amazing how kids reacted to my husband's presence; it was like as soon as he walked in the room, they would calm down and feel hopeful. And their parents were even worse, especially their moms. Once he was done with his patient, we went to the cafeteria and bought our food. I chose what I used to eat every single time I came here: a chicken sandwich. I bit back a smile so I didn't look like the crazy chick smiling to herself. Edward used to tease me about it, saying that it tasted really bad, which led to endless debates about what tasted better, chicken sandwich or burger. Edward took our tray and led me to a table in the middle of the room.

I didn't know how to start so I choose a pretty easy question.

"How was your day so far?"

"It was fine, how was yours?"

"Boring" I didn't know what to talk about so I pretended to be busy chewing while I come up with something. I finally decided to ask him the one thing I really wanted to know:

"Edward, are we okay?" He looked at me, surprised that I would bring up this subject.

"Yeah sure, we're fine" I knew that he was trying to get out of talking to me, and he knew that I knew.

"We both know that's not what I meant. I mean are we really okay? Like there's nothing wrong going on between us?" Suddenly, his face became expressionless and I knew I was going to have a hard time getting him to talk to me about it. I waited for a couple of minutes then, frustrated, I said:

"Are you going to say something?" He ran his hand in his hair a couple of times.

"There's nothing to say" I noticed that my lunch break was almost over so I wrapped the rest of my sandwich in the foil to throw it away. I went over to Edward's side and crouched down so I looked him in the eyes.

"I'm trying here, but I need you to help me. I have to go to work but we'll talk about this tonight."

I got in my car and headed back to work, all the time thinking about the conversation we were going to have. Edward tried many times to talk to me, ask me what was going on but I always found a way to avoid the discussion and I always told him the same thing, that I needed some time and it'd be all fine eventually.

Now I wasn't so sure.

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**I'm actually nervous about posting this...this is why it took so long. The next one will be out sooner :)  
Comments? Do you want shorter/longer chapters? You like it/don't like it?**

**Review:)**


	3. Chapter 2

**This is the second chapter:). I should have posted it earlier but my exams are next week so I was busy studying. Hopefully, I'll be able to write more on Christmas vacation.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they all belong to Stephenie Meyer. All of them except Laney, this one's mine.**Chapter 2:

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After my lunch with Edward, the day seemed to pass agonizingly slow; work dragged on forever. I was both dreading going back home and looking forward to it. I didn't know how to explain my actions to my husband without telling him that I knew he wanted to leave. And I wanted to avoid telling him that Rosalie had already told me. At the same time, I wished I could just skip all the drama and go to the time when we'll make up and be just like we were before. This was probably a big part of our problems: me thinking that everything was probably going to magically fix itself up. I never thought he wasn't worth the effort, on the opposite, I loved him with all my heart; but I never had to fight for him or any guy before, and I didn't really know how to and frankly, I was scared. But this time, I had an inkling that love was not going to be enough. I had to try my hardest to do this right because I couldn't afford any mistake, Edward was already distant. After I had finished meeting with a client, I went back to my office and worked a little bit more. I chatted with Angela for a bit then headed back home. Halfway there, I realised that I wasn't ready to go home so I decided to go grocery shopping to clear my head a bit. After my patience had started to run out, I found a parking space and got into the store. I was deciding between two boxes of pasta when I felt someone's cart bump into me.

"I am so sorry miss" The person started to say before I turned around.

"Wow, Bella, how are you?" Edward's brother Emmett asked me. The guy was over 6 feet tall and built like a bulldozer so seeing him nervous while talking to me was really strange, and I would have found it weird a couple of days ago. As much as I didn't like his wife, I didn't really want to get her in trouble for something she wasn't supposed to say so I decided to play dumb.

"I'm fine" There was an awkward silence before I felt something nudge my thigh. I looked down to see my adorable 4 year old niece looking at me with her big blue eyes. I forgot everything about Emmet as I picked her up and stroked her blond hair.

"Hay auntie Bella, I missed you since my birthday" She told me, wrapping her arms around my neck. I felt a pang of guilt; Edward and I were her godparents and I haven't seen her since her birthday, which was three weeks ago.

"I'm sorry baby; I promise I won't do it again, ok?"

"Yeah sure"

"Hey Emmet, I found what you were looking for" Emmett's wife, Rosalie was holding a dark blue deodorant set. She looked absolutely breathtaking, as usual, and was wearing killer heels I couldn't manage to stand up wearing even if my life depended on it. She didn't have a hair out of place and was dressed like she was going to a magazine photo shoot just for groceries. I always wished I could get out of bed in the morning and look like she did in the morning. I usually looked good but she would put any supermodel to shame.

"Hey Bella, what are you doing here?" She then realised how obvious the answer was going to be and chuckled nervously.

"Um Emmet, I think we forgot to buy cereals" Her husband got the hint and played along. He bent down so he was at the same eye-level with his daughter and asker her excitedly: "Laney, do you want to help dad chose a box of cereals? You know how there are hundreds of them and I wouldn't know what to pick" He made it sound like he was doing something very important, not just picking the first box he sees. Lily looked at him like he was giving her a car and she could drive it around whenever she liked. Her little mouth opened, forming an O and she nodded her head fast. I waited until Laney and Emmett were out of sight then I hugged Rose.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you" She was surprised by my outburst to say the least but she patted my back like she didn't know what else to do.

"I know that you didn't have to tell me this but thank you for giving me a chance to do make this right"

"Look, I mostly did it for Edward. I've known the guy my whole life and don't want to see him get hurt, so don't mess this up" To somebody else she would've sounded careless and cold; but I knew that after what she did, she meant well.

"I really care about you Bella, and if I didn't believe that Edward is better with than without you, I wouldn't be doing this" Her words surprised me. She never looked like she cared about me; she even made my life hell in the first few months when I met her so her words confused me. She must have recognized the look on my face because she added: "I protect the people I love, Bella. And Edward and I were like brothers and sisters so I didn't think that you were good enough for him. After a few months, I started to think you were okay but I had too much pride to admit that I was wrong and apologise, and I'm sorry for that" I was touched by her small speech and, although it didn't justify her actions, I could see where she was coming from.

"I take it you are trying to solve the problems between you and your husband?"

"Hell yeah. We had lunch together today"

"Really? How did it go?" I couldn't help but wince slightly.

"It didn't really go that well but I don't think it can get any worse"

"How about we go to lunch and I'll help you, maybe give you a few ideas?" I really liked her idea; it would help us bond and I really needed a girlfriend.

"Yeah sure. Are you free on Thursday morning?"

"Yes, I am. I'll call you and discuss the details, ok? But I should get going now"

We were at the cashiers' section and I could see Emmett paying for the stuff he and Laney got. We went over to them and I said goodbye, promising that I'll visit more. I paid for my things and went to my car.

It was raining heavily so I was drenched by the time I got to my car. I also had to drive slower than usual which meant it took me extra time to get home. When I turned the radio on, I heard the weather lady saying that there was going to be a snow storm tomorrow and that people should stay home. She also mentioned that most schools in Seattle will be closed and that she advised citizens not to go out except if necessary. I didn't really give it much thought, if there was anything serious, we would get a call from work. When I finally got home it was very cold so the run from my car to the building entrance had me freezing. I was barely able to feel my fingers so there was no way I was going to stand in the hallway while I put my bags down, take the keys from my purse and open the door. Instead, I banged on the door with my elbow. Edward ran to the door and rushed to open it; I could tell it from the sound of his footsteps. As soon as I could feel the warmth inside, everything else was forgotten.

"I am so cold!" He chuckled, because I probably looked like a soaked cat. But I didn't complain; he was in a good mood and that was all I had wanted from this morning. He closed the door and went over to where I was standing.

"Here, let me take care of those" He said, gesturing to the bags in my hands. "And go change before you catch a cold". I thanked my incredibly sweet husband and went to our bedroom to change. I got a pair of sweats and a hoodie from the closet then went to the bathroom to change. I figured a nice hot shower would do me good so I got in the tub and turned the hot water on until it almost burned my skin. When I got out I was all red because of the hot water and the bathroom was foggy. Edward always complained about how he had to wait at least five minutes after I showered to use the bathroom. I smelled a wonderful scent coming from the kitchen so my curiosity got the better of me and I had to see what Edward was doing. Like I suspected, he was cooking, and he wasn't cooking anything, he was cooking pasta. That in itself wasn't that big of a shock since he didn't really know how to make anything else. But my favourite food was pasta, so who was I to complain? It was actually funny how neither one of us knew how to cook, yet we always managed to have something edible for dinner, most of the time.

"Yummy, pasta" I opened my mouth, and he held some pasta in the wooden spoon he used before and placed them in my mouth. This Edward was a whole different Edward than the one he has been today or even these couple of months, and I really didn't want to do anything to ruin his good mood so I decided that the talk had to wait. We had one of my favourite meals: plain macaroni and melted cheese, so I figured we were celebrating something.

"What is the super delicious meal for? Not that I'm complaining, I would love to eat this everyday"

"I wanted to apologise-" I cut him off:

"You don't have to do anything-"

"Yes, I do have to. I shouldn't have treated you like this today or the last month or so, and I am sorry. I really want us to work again so could you give me a chance?"

He looked at me with pleading eyes and I just couldn't say no to him. I got up from my seat, went over to his side and put my arms around his neck.

I suddenly believed that we could make it through.

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**Tell me if you like it :). And I wanna start something new. From now on, everybody who reviews gets a preview of the next chapter.  
The next chapter should probably be out before christmas, but I really can't promise anything.**

**Maria**


	4. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own Twilight. It all belongs to the amazing Stephenie Meyer.**

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**Chapter 3:**

The rest of the night was spent watching bad TV and eating popcorn. On the news, they reminded us to stay at home and not go anywhere, but I didn't pay it any attention, thinking that they were overreacting like usual. When I started to get tired, I noticed I've got a message from Angela telling me that we didn't have to go to work the next day; maybe the forecasters weren't wrong after all. I was still on the sofa in the living room so I showed it to Edward who just shrugged his shoulders. He hasn't heard from the hospital about the storm since he didn't have work the next day. I tried to stifle a yawn but Edward saw right through it.

"Come on, let's get back to bed" He looked really nervous but I decided that he would tell me what was bothering him whenever he felt ready.

I went into the bathroom to change and brush my teeth and when I got back, Edward was sitting on the edge of the bed running his hands through his hair almost ripping it out. I sat next to him and held his hands in place.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"I was thinking about something, but I didn't know how you would react and if you don't want to do it, it's okay, I mean you don't have to" I had to concentrate really hard to catch a part of his words.

"Tell me, I promise I'll understand"

"I was thinking that since we were going to try and fix us, that we should take things slowly"

"Yeah, you're probably right" But I didn't know why he was telling me this.

"So I was thinking about going sleeping in the guest room, just for a couple of days"

"Oh" I was speechless. I didn't know if I should have been hurt, disappointed or if I should have agreed with him, so I felt a mixture of all of them. "Ok". He had an apologetic look on his face. I went into the bathroom to get a hold of my emotions before I made a fool of myself. When I got back Edward was gone. With a sigh, I got under the sheets. I closed my eyes and tried to think back to the last time I slept in a bed without Edward; I couldn't. It was way too long. I put my head on Edward's pillow and tried to sleep.

I woke up Tuesday and remembered that we were staying home when I heard the rain on the window. I actually looked forward to spending the day with Edward. We didn't have to work or step out of the house. This was why I was excited and jumped out of bed at 7am. As soon as I put my feet on the ground, I realised how cold it really was so I wrapped a blanket around my shoulders and went to the kitchen. Edward was in sweatpants and had a short sleeved white t-shirt on. "Wow. I see some things are still the same" I said, referring to the fact that he never seemed to get cold. He had a mug full of steaming hot coffee in his hands and when I looked at the coffee machine, I saw that there was still some left so I got up and poured myself a cup to warm up a bit before I froze to death. I suddenly heard the doorbell ring and wondered who would be at our doorstep on a day like this. By the look on Edward's face, he was thinking the same. He unwillingly stood up and muttered "I got it" then said something that sounded like: too early in the damn morning. Then I heard an annoying squeal I didn't think I'd have to deal with before a long time and a slim figure wrap her hands around my husband's neck.

I couldn't see much from Edward's back but the strawberry blond hair told me all I needed to know.

"Tanya! What are you doing here?" Edward sounded actually happy to see her. I had met Tanya when I met Edward. Edward's dad and Tanya's dad were best friends so they kind of grew up together. They always were really close but when Edward and I started dating, I didn't exactly like her so they drifted apart.

"I wanted to spend time with Kate and since she lived nearby, I thought I'd drop by and see my favourite cousin" Kate was Tanya's sister. She lived with her husband, Garrett in Forks and they visited us from time to time. They were both amazing people and I always loved having them over. Tanya finally saw me standing in the hallway and come to hug me.

"Bella, how are you?"

"I'm good, how are you?"

"You know the usual" Just then lightning stroke and I let out a yelp. I couldn't help it; I hated snowstorms or storms in general.

"Come on, let's go in"

Edward grabbed Tanya's suitcase and led her to the living room. I decided to change out of my pink fluffy pyjamas. I put on a purple top and black pants and when I got down, Edward and Tanya were laughing at something she had said. I had always envied their relationship; they were as close as two people could get. They almost read each other's mind and Edward could tell her anything, stuff I wasn't so happy with her knowing. She was beautiful, he was beautiful; together, they looked like the perfect couple. I felt like the third wheel so I got in the kitchen and did the dishes. I hated spending time with both of them; they made me feel out of place. Edward tried to include me in whatever they did many times but I never felt like I belonged with them. Tanya was the cause of many of our fights which always ended in "we'll figure it out later". I heard footsteps behind me and since Tanya was wearing heels, I assumed it was Edward. He put his hands around my waist and I leaned into him just like we used to do.

"Hey, why are you in here? Come on let's do something fun"

"Yeah, I'll just finish these" And then, just because I could, I gave him a kiss on his cheek. By the big smile on his face, I could tell he liked it.

I finished the dishes, cleaned the counters and the coffee maker. There was nothing left to do and as much as I wanted to stay in the kitchen all day, I had to come out eventually. Tanya and Edward were on the couch, too close for my liking. I sat next to Edward and he put his arm around my shoulders. He was talking with her about cars; another thing they had in common, sports cars. He and Tanya and Rosalie loved anything that had to do with cars. I just couldn't get how somebody could like inanimate stuff this much. Speaking of cars reminded me of my sister-in-law, and I told Edward I was calling Rose. He looked at me with a funny look, and I probably would've reacted the same way if I was him.

I went into the hallway and dialled Rose's home number. After three rings, Emmett answered.

"Hello"

"Hey Emmett, it's Bella. Can you pass me Rose?"

"She's with Hayley right now. But it shouldn't be more than two minutes"

"No problem, I'll wait"

"It's good to hear from you, by the way"

Emmett may have looked scary to anybody else, but moments like those made me realise that he was a teddy bear at heart.

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**Bad news: **

***This chapter should have been longer, I'm sorry for it :) but I have a couple of good reasons:  
1-****I'm in the middle of my exams, so I don't have as much time to write as I want to  
2-I usually write on my phone and upload it from there but I forgot my phone at my friend's and I won't be able to get it back before wednesday.  
*On holiday I won't be in town for five days and I won't be able to update :(**

**Now good news:**

***I got this chapter out with only one day late****  
*I'll get longer chapters written on holiday and I'll post them faster  
*I bought a LOT of christmas gifts for my friends and my family(but this is only about me)**

**If you would like something to happen, just let me know in a review.  
And I'd also like to hear any funny christmas stories that happened to you or anything that you'd like to tell me.**

**I started writing a new story and it should be posted before new year's eve. Put me on author alert if you want to be notified.**

**Reviewers get previews :)**

**Marry Christmas everybody :)  
And just in case I don't get to talk to you, Happy New Year.**

**Maria.**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 4:

The rest of Tanya's visit was as pleasant as were my feelings towards her. I had to watch how MY husband was listening to what SHE was saying for THREE straight hours. After a tearful goodbye (for her), she was finally on her way and hopefully won't be back for a long, long, long time. Edward walked with her to the door and I went after him.

I stood there, hands on my hips, with what I hoped was a menacing expression on my face. My five-foot silhouette didn't do a very good job of blacking his way taller body but I was pretty certain he was able to sense the anger emanating from me. He decided to play dumb and raised his eyebrow questionably as if to ask me why I was acting that way.

"What the hell was that?" I reformulated into words what I had tried to ask him with a look, thinking that he was less likely to ignore me.

"What do you mean?" It wasn't what I had hoped he'd say but acknowledging me was better than nothing.

"You know very well what I mean" I spat, not meaning to act like that, but because I knew it'd result in one thing: a fight. With a frustrated tone, he said:

"Oh, please Bella. Don't start this again."

"Well, I wouldn't feel the need to do this if I didn't think it was necessary because, last time I checked, I wasn't here to pick fights. But your attitude with Tanya, what is it about?"

"There is NOTHING wrong about my relationship with her" He stressed the word nothing to try and make a point. I muttered, mostly to myself "Yeah, if you were married".

Apparently, I spoke too loud and Edward rolled his eyes at me.

"She's my best friend and I haven't seen her in months". It was my turn to roll my eyes; I already knew that.

"Best friends or not, your behaviour wasn't appropriate"

"Why don't you let go of this particular subject?"

I replied with a challenging voice: "Why don't you admit you're wrong?"

"Because I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! If she was just your friend you wouldn't hang on her every single word, you wouldn't be that thrilled to spend time with her and you certainly wouldn't make that much of a deal out of this!"

My eyes welled up with tears and I couldn't keep the emotion traitors at bay. I turned my head just as I felt my lip involuntarily quiver and climbed the stairs two at a time heading for the bedroom. I slammed the door and threw myself on the bed, muffling my sobs by the pillow. I hated that I wasn't strong enough for this or pretty much everything made me cry like an eight year old little girl. I would have given everything just to be capable of confronting Edward while keeping a somewhat calm exterior. I heard him get into the guest room and hit my head with the hardest pillow I could find. I couldn't believe that he was denying everything after what I had told him. He could be so stubborn sometimes but this was too much, even for him. It was supposed to be easy, I'd tell him about Tanya and he'd promise he'd do something about it. She wasn't worth this big a fight. I just was not able to see why he was so sure that I was wrong, or why he did not want to do anything about it. Why this time was so different? A small voice in my head told me that if I hadn't been such a crappy wife, he would listen to me. I told the voice to shut up and wiped the tears out of my eyes. I used to feel like I was possessive and jealous but it wasn't just images in my head. It was too obvious not to notice it. I turned the water on in the bathroom and washed my face. I sighed, the coldness making me feel better. I ran the water up to my elbows and down to my neck then decided to take a shower, hoping it'd help me clear my head. I put my blackberry on the counter next to the sink and put the music on. The steaming hot water relaxed my muscles and I hummed when I heard a song I liked, almost forgetting today's events. Unfortunately, as soon as I opened the bathroom door and was hit by the cold air, I was reminded why I had felt the need to escape the world a little while. I contemplated what had happened in the morning and got lost in my thoughts. A particularly cold breeze reminded me that I was still only clad in a towel. I opened the closet's door and started searching for something to wear. Most of my clothes were a gift from Alice and a big part of them still had the tag on. I had no idea why the girl liked to wear dresses that much; and although she tried real hard every chance she got, her efforts were to no avail. I decided to go out to have lunch in a restaurant. Since nothing happened to Tanya, I could assume it would be safe. I looked out the window and saw that the storm had calmed down. I found a black jacket Alice had gotten me. I chuckled when I recalled why she has offered me the jacket. She once saw a woman walking down the street; unfortunately for the woman, Alice liked the jacket she was wearing so she walked up to the woman, actually asked her if she could buy it from her. The poor girl refused so Alice had to get me one that looked like it. I laughed so hard once she told me; only Alice would do something like that. I coupled it with a white shirt and black jeans and some black boots. I got out and found the guest room's door closed, and Edward nowhere to be found. I wrote a paper and left it on the table next to the door. It said:

Out for lunch.  
B.

I got in my car and started driving. I was in the mood for a burger and, after about ten minutes of wondering, I chose "The link". It was a nice restaurant, and there was even bowling. The host led me to my favourite table, one in the far back of the restaurant, from where I could see pretty much everything that happened. A waiter named Alec came over my table and handed me the menu. He flashed me a bright smile and told me he'd be back to take my order very soon.

I read the menu about ten times before choosing what I always chose, a fat greasy tasty cheese burger. I didn't even know why I even bothered opening the menu; I pretty much had it memorized.

I was looking at the drinks when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned my head and saw a guy with pale blond hair and blue eyes staring at me. There was something familiar about him but I couldn't put my finger on where I have seen him before.

"Bella Swan?"

"Um, yes?"

"It's Michael Newton, from high school" It took me a few seconds to figure out who Michael Newton is, but when I did, I stood up and hugged him. I instantly regretted it; he may have been my first friend at forks high, my old high school, but he was most of the time a pain in the butt.

I tried to make polite conversation and it was kind of nice at first to catch up with him; but after fifteen minutes, I got bored. Alec came to ask me what I wanted and, god knew why, Mike took it as an invitation to have lunch. Sadly I had to spend a whole additional hour listening to him telling me how he stood up to his boss once, and got fired. The entire thing just made me miss Edward, time usually flied when we were together.

I looked at the clock on my cell phone and saw that the blue screen flashed 3 o'clock. I figured that it was a late enough time to get out of this situation. I said I was full, declined an offer for dessert and asked for the bill. I insisted on paying half of it, then felt my phone vibrate in my back pocket. "Rosalie" was flashing on the screen so I thanked the Lord for making her call me and pressed the green button.

"Hey Rose, what's up?"

"I need a big favour from you Bella and I promise I'll do anything back"

I faked surprise and said:

"Oh my god! Are you kidding?"

"What are you talking about?"

"I'm on my way"

"On your way to what Bella?"

"Yeah, sure. I'll call you later"

I hung up on her and turned to Mike.

"I am so sorry Mike, but my friend is having troubles and she needs me. I have to go."

I put on my best miserable face and half-ran out of the restaurant before he would even consider asking me to meet again. When I was at a safe distance from Mike, I called Rose and explained everything. It turned out she needed me to babysit Haley because her nanny was sick and her parents out of town. Haley would spend the night at our place while her mom and dad went to a work-related party. They'd pick her up in the morning. When I got to Emmet and Rose's house, my favourite (and only niece was waiting for me with her Hello Kitty overnight bag. Rose had half her hair curled and half of it still wet when she thanked me for the tenth time and told me what I should and shouldn't do. It wasn't like it was the first time we spent time together.

The road back home was mostly spent talking about Hayley's friends and school and she even told me about her new hobby: ballet dancing. Hayley couldn't even wait for me to get my keys and excitedly knocked on the door. An obviously angry Edward opened the door.

"Where the hell have you been?"

At Hayley's sight, Edward freezed.

**I am soooo sorry for the long wait but I had a huge writer's block and couldn't figure out what to do with the chapter. I hope you like it. By the way if anybody has a story they want me to check out, just give me the name and I'll read it. I'm in desperate need of ffs to read.**

**Review please**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 4:

"Where the hell have you been?"

At the sight of Hayley, Edward froze.

Chapter 5:

Hayley, surprised by Edward's outburst, jumped back and took a hold of my arm. But he soon changed his attitude to not scare the poor little girl anymore. He bent down, opening his arms to Hayley who seemingly forgot everything, wrapped her arms around her uncle's neck and giggled when he lifted her off the ground. I got the bag she left on the ground and closed the door. I went to the living room and got a jacket that belonged to certain person busy tickling Edward off the floor and hung it on the coat rack. I discreetly went to my temporary bedroom, made the bed and got most of my stuff out to let Hayley sleep there. I had to put my clothes in our old room and when I was done, I went to the kitchen and got some Haagen-Dazs out of the freezer. Although Edward considered eating ice cream reserved for summer, I disagreed. And I was sure Hayley would back me up. I put a couple of scoops in three bowls, in case Edward changed his mind and added chocolate syrup. Thankfully, Hayley was on the opposite side of the living room when I walked in which gave me time to put her treat on the coffee table and avoid a battle I wasn't sure I'd survive. Edward took that opportunity to sit next to me and put his arm around me trying to act normal. In a low voice, he asked me:

"What took you so long?" As much as I wanted to argue with him, the look he was giving me broke down my resolve. His eyes shone with worry and apology. I had to admit it; he hated when I took off like that and sometimes, like today, I did it on purpose.

"I ran into this guy then went to Rose's-" My husband apparently didn't hear anything else I said after "guy" and looked at me quizzically, with a hint of jealousy which I found adorable.

"Wait, what guy?"

"Oh, you didn't know? I met Johnny Depp at Link and we had this amazing romantic lunch" It took him a second to comprehend that I was just messing with him.

"Ha-ha. Very funny"

"Actually, if you had seen your face, you would have known how funny it really is." Instead of replying, he mimicked how I talked which resulted in me slapping him lightly on the chest. He linked his fingers with mine and kept them on his chest.

"I am so sorry. I know I already said this but you have to believe me. I don't want something or somebody like Tanya making you upset. I won't talk to her if you want to-"

"It's not that I don't want you to talk to her." Hayley had already finished eating and eyed our still full cups suspiciously.

"We'll talk later, okay?" I tried to keep my voice down while not obviously keeping anything from her. Edward nodded. I didn't need to think of anything to keep Hayley occupied because Edward saw her eyeing the black piano next to the wall and proposed teaching her a couple of tricks. Her eyes went wide and enthusiastically shook her head up and down. I followed them and sat in the armchair that was next to the wooden bench and listened to Hayley who was gesturing to the instrument telling us how she never touched a real one this "pretty" before.

"We had lots of plastic ones in kindergarten but the teachers didn't want to get us ones like this 'cause they were afraid we were going to break them or something" She carefully placed her tiny hand on the cover and stroke the shiny black wood. Edward helped her sit comfortably on the seat, opened the lid and gave the little girl a basic lesson on playing. She was too impatient to wait a couple of minutes and apparently wasn't even listening to the boring speech because she started putting a bit of pressure with her fingers on the ivory keys. When that wasn't enough she pressed a tad more and smiled when she heard the smooth sound she made. She giggled then burst out laughing which led to me giggling like an idiot. In fact, I was in her situation, except that I was about 20 years older and supposed to be an adult. When she regained her composure, Edward started with the easiest tune he knew "Twinkle, Twinkle little star", something he had desperately tried to teach me but every time I thought I memorized, I would have forgotten it by the time I tried moving to something harder. Hayley caught everything very quickly and in ten minutes, she was jumping up and down from happiness. I jumped from my place and ran to get my camera. I was sure Rose would be ecstatic if I showed her how happy her daughter was. I tried, without success to sneak in on them but the clumsy me almost tripped and landed heavily on one foot. Hayley didn't notice but Edward turned and looked at me to give me his bone-melting crooked grin; it was no wonder I was always tripping on my feet, nobody could focus on anything if they were given a look like that. I was brought back to the present when I heard Hayley clear her throat then beam at us. Wanting to put the spotlight on anybody but me, I suggested:

"Baby, why don't you play the song again so I can put it on tape and show it to mom and dad?"

"Yeah, sure" She twisted back to face the piano and scratched her head to think of someplace to start. Edward silently pointed to a long white key and she began to play. She had only learned the first part so what took her almost half an hour to practice only lasted about fifteen seconds. I put the device on a near table and clapped my hands, almost as thrilled as the young artist.

"Uncle Ed, can you play some nice things for us?" She gave him the famous Cullen pout nobody could ever say no to.

"Sure, princess"

One of my favourite things in the world was watching Edward play on his instrument. He lightly bit on his lower lip when he was concentrating and half-closed his eyes when he tried to imagine something in his head. There was always this serene aura that emanated from him and it was obvious it brought him great joy; I just wished I could share it with him in some way.

A smooth melody emerged and I recognized something he had played to me before. I couldn't put my finger on the name but I had become familiar with it over the years. I hummed it under my breath and Hayley, who was sitting on my lap, nudged me and murmured:

"It's beautiful" I nodded, I felt exactly the same.

"Do you think I will ever play like this?"

"Of course, if you start now and you really like it, you can even become better than Edward at it" She looked as if somebody told her Santa Claus was real; and chances are, she thinks he is.

"No way!"

"He was a couple of years older when he started so if you hurry up, you'll have more time to rehearse" Her eyes looked like she was a million miles away, probably imagining herself in twenty-five years, winning some kind of important competition.

I felt a big hand on my shoulder and jumped up. So lost in my thoughts, I didn't hear the music stop or footsteps come behind me. I placed a kiss on the corner of his mouth and thanked him.

After finishing our music session, I was washing the ice cream cups when I heard a little stomach rumble. I looked down to see a little angel-looking Hayley looking at me with pink cheeks.

"Hey, do you want something special for dinner or would you like me to order take-out from McDonald's?"

"Actually, can we go there? We'll see the clown and play with the games and everything."

"Of course we can cutie. I'll just get our stuff and we'll be on our way in a couple of minutes."

I called Edward and told him of our plans. He said he'd be glad to join us. I searched in Hayley's bag and found mittens, a scarf and a hat. I helped her wear her jacket and put mine on. We waited for Edward to find his keys and went into the elevator. We went to the parking level, got in our car and I quickly put my poor hands that almost turned blue on the heater.

"Is your seatbelt on, honey?" I glanced to the back and doubled checked. I buckled my seatbelt then felt Edward take a hold of my hand. I felt butterflies take place in my stomach. I haven't felt that nervous since before I had gotten married, years ago. Dinner was quiet and we were back in the house at around seven-thirty. After Hayley was in bed I lied down on the couch and closed my eyes. The day's emotions have taken a toll on me and I just felt the need to relax. I heard Edward lift my feet off, sit and start rubbing them.

"Hey, beautiful."

"Hey"

"Come on, let's go upstairs."

"Yeah, yeah. Just two more minutes." I whined, sounding like a teenager who has to get out of bed to go to high school.

Suddenly, I felt Edward snake his hands around me and lift me off. I let out a yelp and hung on my husband's neck for dear life. He dropped me on the bed and stood near the sofa in the bedroom. Half of my stuff were still in my closet and I was surprised to find the clothes inside exactly as I left them. I had no idea why I imagined that there would have been some change. I tied up my hair, put on a black and blue pyjama and brushed my teeth. My husband apparently was cold-proof because he was only wearing sweats. I felt awkward, standing in the middle of the room not knowing what to do. Edward voiced my unspoken thought.

"What do you want to do? I can sleep on the couch or something" I stayed silent for a couple of seconds then figured out that nobody should be sleeping on the couch. I walked to the bed and sat down.

"I'm not going to make you sleep on the couch. Now I don't know about you, but I can barely keep my eyes open so, goodnight."

Edward who was sitting next to me chuckled and said he'd be back when "it's a decent time for grownups to sleep" then did something I had definitely not expected. He looked at me, his eyes darting between my eyes and my lips and he lightly kissed me. He silently walked out of the room, probably giving me time to take it in. When I was sure I wouldn't be heard, I let out a squeal and felt my skin get warmer. I could swear I was blushing. After a few deep breaths, I got under the covers and waited for the comforter to warm then drifted in a peaceful sleep.

**I hope you like it guys:)  
The chapter was finished two days ago but my dad was in the hospital and I stayed with him yesterday afternoon and the day before.**

**I'd like it very much if you checked my other story, Deal. The prologue is up and the first chapter should be posted soon.**

**I want to thank everybody who reviews or reads my story, especially Jediahsokaroxx for the reviews that always make me smile and Taralynn09 for her support from the start.**

**Maria**


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